Haiti made the news again at the end of March when frustrated citizens set an airplane on fire. Yet, despite the barrage of violence and destruction, we see snippets of Hope popping up throughout the country in places like rural Bois-Pin.
Bois-Pin is in the Massif de la Selle mountain range and is home to Haiti’s third tallest mountain. The locals make a scarce living farming rainfed cassava. The hilly terrain, typical for the area, makes transportation by vehicle impossible. Instead, people must travel by donkey, horse, or mule, making for a long and tedious journey to Bahon, the closest place for health care, school, and supplies.
Without question, a road to Bahon wide enough for a motor vehicle would significantly improve life for the people of Bois-Pin.
There was a time when the residents began to build an unpaved rural road to allow motorcycles through. But their work was delayed by a shortage of tools and food to sustain the workers.
Now, the church of Bois-Pin has committed to building a road up the mountain. This project is a huge undertaking! They are taking a small walking path and literally making it a road for cars. By hand! They are building a road up a mountain by hand! A field staff member in Haiti commented, “It [the commitment and enthusiasm] is tangible proof to express they really want change and development.”
Bright Hope gave the church money for tools, and the church is overseeing the rest. Ten groups of 10 men and women work on the road six days a week, eight hours each day. The task feels impossible, and the work is backbreaking. But hope drives them forward, the hope of what life could be like if they had a road wide enough for a vehicle to drive on.
You will not believe your eyes when you see how the workers are building this 7-mile road! And the joy with which they are working!
The realization of how much better life will be with this road in place drives the people to this exhausting work each day. When they finish the road, the community will breathe a collective sigh of relief, knowing that life is about to get a whole lot better for them all.
What an absolute privilege it is to partner with the church in Bois-Pin on this project. We’ll be keeping a close watch on this community to see what’s next for them once they’ve got this road in place. Stay tuned for an update!
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